Rodopi Advendurun (ROUT) is a new approach to trail running races, introducing a new
vision on the ultras, the adventure/endurance running (advendurunning), by putting athletes and their
skills in a serious challenge, and assessing their experience gained by long
practice of the sport. ROUT is calling only experienced trail runners,
requiring their maximum of physical and mental endurance. Welcome to the new
philosophy of adventure running

150 athletes will be admitted to the race
this year regardless of country of origin. Registration is a two-stage process,
first the application for participation is approved and then you are notified
to proceed with the fees payment. The payment period for those already
fulfilling the criteria and thus approved to participate will begin on May 20
and will last until the 150 places are filled up or until July 31, if there are
still openings. The organization will take special provisions to ensure a
minimum number of starters are athletes residing outside Greece.

The qualification criterion remains the
same as in previous years, finishing in an approved trail race of at least 80
km over the past 3 years (2014, 2015,2016 ).

The entry fee for this year's race will
remain EUROS 120,00. Race course, rules and regulations will published within
the forthcoming week (although there will be not substantial changes as of past
year (cut-off to 40 hours).

The Steering Committee of ROUT took care
to instill consistently until today the philosophy of a race not confined to
the narrow limits of an organized racing event but provides athletes with the
opportunity to experience an immersion to the pristine nature of Rodopi
mountains. Today, with the experience of six previous editions, adventure
transpires the Rodopi Advendurun and this spirit will prevail in all our future
endeavors.

1.
GENERAL:"Rodopi Advendurun" (ROUT) is an ultra-endurance
trail race with elements of adventure, which is held every October at the
Rodopi Mountain Range, in northern Greece.
Until 2012 the race was called "Rodopi Ultra Trail". The course is 164 kilometers (100
miles) and has +8000 meters
elevation gain (approx). The area where the race is held is one of the most
characteristic forests in Greece and is part of the Rodopi Mountain Range
National Park, an area of rare natural beauty and biodiversity (habitat for
bears, deer, wild goats, roe deer etc). The time limit (cut-off) of the race is 40
hours. The race has the same start and
finish point, "Erymanthos" which is the Forest Village in the area of Haidou,
north of Stavroupoli, Xanthi. To participate in ROUT essential abilities
are required, like previous ultra trail race experience.

2.
PHILOSOPHY: ROUT perceives the
meaning of ultra-endurance as an expression of searching for the human limits
through the contact with free and uncontrolled nature, which forces its rules
demanding respect, awareness, courage, reserves of mental stamina and a lot of
experience.
Its basic parameters, define ROUT as a feat experience, which tests the
physical and mental stamina of its athletes. For its organizers, ROUT is an "adventure
race", in regard to the aspect of the uncertainty of the race effort, due to
its big difficulty. The term adventure,
is defined as the uncertainty of the outcome of an autonomous human effort in
the open nature.
In ROUT the external support of athletes is minimal, so they have to depend on
themselves to face the subjective and objective difficulties of the race. Crossing completely uninhabited areas for a
distance of 164 kilometers (100 miles), they become one with nature, which is a
complicated and demanding procedure, but also is the very essence of the event.
The philosophy of ROUT distills the up-to-date experience in ultra trail races,
emphasizing in elements such as
isolation, autonomy and independence, ingredient elements of adventure, which
ROUT is trying to inculcate to its athletes.3. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION:The race is open to all those aged 20 years and
above. Athletic documentation is not
required, since it cannot document one's ability to take part in a test that
surpasses the so called athletic limits.
Interested parties submit an application and if they fulfill the
required criterion, having completed at least one trail race longer than 50
miles (80 kilometers) during the 3 last calendar years (2014, 2015, 2016),
their participation in the race is approved. For the two 50
mile races that take place up to now in Greece "Rodopi Challenge"
and "TERA" the participation criterion is having completed the race in 17 and 21
hours respectively. In any case, the organization has the right
to turn down an application despite the fact that it may fulfill the typical
criteria that have been set for reasons that it is not obliged to explain to
the interested party. Athletes that have
been disqualified from this or a different race in the past for a serious
ethical offense such as a heavy case of deception or violent behavior, are not
accepted.

5. PARTICIPATION CRITERIA: The participation criterion for ROUT is the
documented experience of an athlete in similar races, which are characterized
as "trail races". The organization
believes that the experience in "public road" long distance races does not
provide the ability to successfully face the difficulties of an ultra trail
race like ROUT, with special requirements of familiarization with the mountain
surroundings in general and in particular with the singularities of the field,
the climate conditions, the absence of frequent support and the psychological
tension that are caused by solitude and the unknown elements that differentiate
the race largely from a "road" race.80 kilometers (50 miles) are set as
a minimum distance for a participation criterion-race, whether it
is a completed finished 80K race (note: 17 hours for "Rodopi
Challenge" and 21 hours for "TERA"), or a
withdrawal after the 100th kilometer at a longer race. Rout is an exception, where the criterion is
the withdrawal at Κ-92 and later (Yioumourlou). The
criterion-race that will be submitted must have taken place in the last 3
calendar years (2013, 2014, 2015).

6. NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS & REGISTRATION PERIOD:The number of
athletes that will be accepted in the 2016 organization is set to 150.
The procedure is as follows:a) REGISTRATION: Participation
applications are submitted between May 20th until July 31st,
2016. b) SELECTION: The
organization immediately informs the athletes that are selected to participate.c) PAYMENT: The athletes that receive the
participation approval, must pay the participation fee. After the end of the registration period, the
athletes that have not responded, lose the right to participate.